Uefa has called for action to deter players from surrounding referees after Chelsea's draw at Barcelona was marred by such behaviour. Temporary dismissals were floated by European football's governing body as one possible solution.

"We are seeing too much of this in the Champions League," Uefa's communications director, William Gaillard, said yesterday. "It's becoming a bad habit; everyone has something to say. It's not easy to apply the 10-yard rule to football but there are other ideas which could be brought in to tackle this, maybe temporary sendings-off."

English football experimented with a rule penalising dissent by advancing free-kicks 10 yards, but Fifa chose not to apply it as law last year. Uefa wants the body that studies and modifies the laws, the International Football Association Board, to act to reduce harassment of referees. Although Uefa in September asked match officials to caution players for waving imaginary cards or crowding around the referee, events at the Camp Nou showed the problems have not been dealt with.

"Every time there is a foul you have 15 players protesting," Gaillard said. "It makes life very difficult for referees. It's up to the international board to look at this but maybe football could learn something from rugby, where the word of the referee is respected and not contested."

John Terry criticised Barcelona for encouraging Stefano Farina to issue cautions. "It's disappointing to see some world-class players who you fully respect and they're waving [imaginary] cards in the ref's face," Chelsea's captain said.

Chelsea will be fined by Uefa for collecting more than five yellow cards on Tuesday, and Uefa is considering an investigation. It will examine reports from Farina and its match delegate for any references to the behaviour of the players or coaches.

Barcelona's coach, Frank Rijkaard, confronted Farina at the end. Fouls by Chelsea's Ricardo Carvalho and Barcelona's Rafael Márquez seemed to go unnoticed and Uefa can examine video evidence if the incidents are not mentioned in the reports and a club makes a complaint. Barcelona could be in trouble after their fans hurled objects at Chelsea players.